On the first Sunday of every month at any South Fulton Golf Course, sounds of laughter and the roaring cheers can be heard coming from an unlikely crowd. They are teachers, nurses, retired law enforcement, entrepreneurs, sports and real estate professionals—even television personalities. This group is not the gallery of golf spectators trying to catch a glimpse of their favorite golfer, or even the stereotypical male golf foursomes who have for decades dominated the game. Rather, this assembly is all women: wives, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, and single ladies who all call South Fulton and the neighboring communities home.
The women of Golf G.A.L.S—the Greater Atlanta League Series—will celebrate their 15th Anniversary during their 2021 Season of Play. The group started in 2006 when its founder, Shaunya Chavis-Rucker, was a new golfer and wanted to find other women to play with on her side of town. She asked the Golf Pro at her neighborhood course to host a golf clinic for a few of her female neighbors and friends. Eight women participated in the first clinic, followed by another eight for the next two clinic sessions, and thus the Ladies League at Wolf Creek was born.
Just two years later, when one of the members was diagnosed with cancer, the women added a public service component to their fellowship. The group hosted its first charity golf tournament with proceeds benefiting Our Lady of Perpetual Help facility, a local home for people suffering from incurable cancer who could not afford care.
The ladies have also hosted free summer kids’ golf clinics in conjunction with the local Parks & Recreations Department, helped WSB-TV Stuff the Bus with school supplies, collected dolls for children of incarcerated fathers at the Fulton County Jail, donated water and snacks to the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Program, supported a myriad of local nonprofit golf tournaments, and hosted play dates with other female golf groups.
The 501c7 Social/Recreational not-for-profit organization changed its name to Golf G.A.L.S. in 2014 to reflect the group’s modified structure of playing at multiple courses in the region.
Though the members play by the rules, they admit their game is mostly about enjoying a sisterly round of golf without an overly competitive edge. After the 2020 Season was thwarted by the pandemic, the group is looking forward to its 2021 Anniversary Season. The ladies have mandatory safety protocols in place for their Sunday sessions and are ready to continue with a year of public service.
Golf G.A.L.S. will dedicate this 15th Anniversary Season to the memory of two of its members who passed away from cancer.
The ladies welcome new members anytime during their March through October golf season of play. GolfGals.net